


Jingle Jangle Jingle

by LemonCakeDesign



Series: Almost (Sweet Music) [8]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Alcohol, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, pike has been alive for 25 slutty slutty years and don't you forget it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2021-01-31 04:17:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21440086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LemonCakeDesign/pseuds/LemonCakeDesign
Summary: I've got spurs that jingle, jangle, jingleAs I go riding merrily alongAnd they sing, oh, ain't you glad you're single?And that song ain't so very far from wrongSometimes, things are just easy.
Relationships: Aymeric de Borel/Warrior of Light
Series: Almost (Sweet Music) [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1535039
Kudos: 12





	Jingle Jangle Jingle

Pike isn’t avoiding Aymeric, per se.

He’s just avoiding the implications of dinner with the man.

The night Alisiae was injured, brought back by Thancred, Pike hadn’t really noticed what Aymeric was doing. They were friends, and friends occasionally meet for dinner, right? 

It had struck him when he realized it was  _ just _ him and Aymeric, but not fully. Perhaps he had something he wanted to discuss privately. It wouldn’t be the first time Aymeric had sought his counsel on something or other.

And then the dinner stretched on, and Pike started to understand what, exactly, the dinner was about. Something Pike would rather not discuss with the man. He was almost thankful for the interruption, though not the circumstances of it.

Pike had thought, at first, that he could just avoid rescheduling, take the coward’s way out. And then Aymeric had turned Thancred into a messenger pidgeon, so he got himself very, very busy. Any task that came through, no matter how small, he took, and kept sending his regrets that no, that day wouldn’t work for him, check back in a month?

It had worked right up until it didn’t.

Pike drops off proof of his last kill to Ardolain, and decides to stop over for the night in the Forgotten Knight. That hunt had been a tough one with no backup, and while he was fine, he didn’t relish trudging back through the snow back to Mor Dhona.

He doesn’t even consider the possibility of Aymeric finding him until the man settles onto a stool next to him.

“You,” Aymeric says with a grin, “Are an extraordinarily difficult man to track down.”

Pike smiles back. “Never thought I’d see you in here,” he says, taking a careful sip of mead to drown the anxiety bubbling in his stomach. “Doesn’t seem your type of place.”

Aymeric huffs a laugh. “I spent many a night in here with Estinien when we were younger knights. Mead soothes the sore knees of patrol better than anything.”

Pike laughs, lifting his cup in acknowledgement of that. They sit for a few moments more, before Aymeric sighs.

“You’ve been avoiding me, haven’t you?”

Pike doesn’t choke on his drink, but it’s a near thing. “I don’t know what you mean. I’ve just been busy.” Seven hells, he’d been so careful to try to keep it lowkey. He didn’t want to  _ offend _ Aymeric, it was just...he didn’t want to hurt him, either.

“You know exactly what I mean, Pike.” Aymeric shakes his head. “I have to admit, a man starts to feel offended when his invitations are so often rejected.”

Pike sets his drink down gently, looking down into the swirling mead. “My apologies for offending you, then.”

A hand lands on where his rests on the bar, and Pike looks up. Aymeric’s expression is soft. “Have I done something to offend you, Pike? I would hate to have hurt you in some way and not realized.”

Pike snorts. “You, hurt me? You’re the most polite person in Eorzea. It’s not that.”

“What, then?” Aymeric’s eyes bore into Pike’s own, and he feels the need to look away, taking a sip of his mead to avoid the question for a moment. He needs to think of a gentle way to put it.

The silence stretches on, and Pike finally sets his drink down. It’s never going to be easy, he realizes. “Aymeric, what  _ exactly  _ do you expect dinner to lead to?”

He looks back up at Aymeric, whose expression is stunned. Pike sighs. “That’s what I thought. Look, Aymeric, you’re a nice guy, and a good friend. But I don’t want to lead you on in any way. I’m not interested in a relationship right now-”

Aymeric holds up a hand. “I understand, Pike. My intentions were not...to  _ romance _ you. I am not so craven as to attempt to woo a man whose husband has been dead less than a year.”

“Oh,” Pike says dumbly. “I just thought, since you invited me to dinner alone…”

Aymeric laughs. “I will admit, the thought of having you to myself was part of the thrill. But I wished for stories, not…” he waves a vague hand.

“See, now  _ I’m _ offended,” Pike jokes back. “I’m not pretty enough for you, is that it?”

Aymeric laughs again, and the tension totally bleeds out between them. “I don’t think your attractiveness was ever up for debate, Pike.”

Pike’s cheeks color a bit at that. “Thank you.” He drains the rest of his drink, and stands. “I’ll...stop avoiding your requests for dinner, Aymeric. Though you don’t need to wine and dine me for a few stories. I’m a Bard, I’ll tell them if you even think about asking in my direction.”

Aymeric stands as well, clapping a hand on Pike’s shoulder. “I’ll keep that in mind. Are you off to the Fortemps manor, then? I can walk you there.”

“I...no. I don’t sleep there anymore. Too many memories,” Pike says. “And I get the sense it hurts Edmont to see me.”

Aymeric shakes his head. “I don’t think that’s quite true, but I understand. Can I offer you a room at my own manor, then? No sense in sleeping at the Knight unless you have to.”

Pike almost says no, but the thought of sleeping on one of those soft beds overwhelms his better senses and he agrees. Besides, Aymeric had said he wasn’t trying to woo Pike, right?

Right?

* * *

If the Garlean Empire needs to get rid of the Warrior of Light, they should just throw a beautiful man at him, honestly.

Because he’s now in Aymeric’s bed, completely naked, with the dawn’s light filtering through the large window. He doesn’t remember much of the night before, after Aymeric had invited him for a nightcap before departing to bed. One drink had turned into a few, and then he remembers stumbling down a hallway, Aymeric leading him by the hand and drawing him into a kiss.

But after that, nothing.

Aymeric stirs next to him. “Pike? Are you awake?” he says, voice sleep-touched and rough.

Pike hums faintly in response, still searching his brain for memories of the night before. There’s a flash of Aymeric literally throwing him into the bed, and  _ wow _ , he’s upset to have missed what came after, because that’s hotter than hell.

He’s suddenly distracted by Aymeric rolling on top of him, dipping his head down to kiss him languidly. The rest of the memories start to filter back in, and Pike feels a flush of lust shoot through him.

He reaches up to draw Aymeric deeper into the kiss, and he feels a rumble of laughter in the taller man’s chest before he pulls back. “Much as I’d love to stay in bed with you, I have obligations I must see to, as I’m sure you do as well.”

Pike pouts, and Aymeric laughs at him as he gets up. “Fine,” Pike says, crossing his arms. “But I demand a repeat performance soon.”

“Are you sure that’s wise?”

Pike shrugs. “I’ve had plenty of sexual relationships that don’t end up turning romantic. Me and Thancred, for instance.”

“You and Thancred?” Aymeric questions. “I would never have guessed.”

Pike laughs. “Everyone says that, but you put two incorrigible flirts in close proximity to each other, it’s bound to happen. And I have a weakness for pretty men.” He shoots a wink to Aymeric, who blushes just a bit. Pike smirks, and tucks that bit of information away for later.

It’s about past time for him to get up and get going, and he can feel the restless energy starting, so Pike gets out of bed and begins to hunt for his clothes. He spots his smalls and bends over to grab them.

Aymeric lets out a low groan and Pike straightens. “What?” he asks, as he slides them on. 

“You, bending over like that. It should be a sin.” Aymeric rubs a hand over his face as Pike laughs. He bends back over to grab his shirt off the floor, wiggling a bit as he goes, and Aymeric groans again.

Before Pike can straighten again, there’s hands on his hips and he’s being lifted back into the bed. “I think obligations can wait,” Aymeric growls in his ear.

**Author's Note:**

> Me: Stormblood stuff is next  
Also me: I FORGOT THE AYMERIC FIC
> 
> I was listening to Fallout Radio on Spotify while writing this, and I thought Jingle Jangle Jingle by Kay Kyser fit. It's a weird choice to be sure but hey, I'm eccentric.
> 
> I did say Pike sleeps with other people, did I not? He just has a taste for the ones that are likely to get him in the most trouble emotionally. Obviously Aymeric and Thancred are not the only ones Pike's slept with but they're the most important for now :3 Sorry if you wanted any explicit content here! I have a love/hate relationship with writing smut so it's a coin flip if I'll do it or not. 
> 
> For real this time, though. Stormblood stuff is next. And it's going to be primarily Pike focused, because it's time for more backstory. Please look forward to it!


End file.
